Schools’ Resource (Key Stages 3 and 4)

This new resource produced by MyLearning, based on material from the WYQS archive, lays out the political and social background to the introduction of Section 28, and explores the devastating impact the Act had on millions of lives.

DIY Queer Oral History

We’ve recorded over 150 interviews for West Yorkshire Queer Stories with the help of over 50 volunteers, and we really want to share our knowledge, experience and paperwork to support other people in setting up their own projects. This resource (by Ray Larman) offers tips, suggestions and links enabling you to download our paperwork and other files.

Zines and Zine-Making

You can use this guide (by Kirsty Fife) to find out about queer zines, including what they are, how to make them, and why you should make a zine of your own – in school, university or with your youth project or queer group. The centrefold of the booklet is a template that you can print out to make a one-page zine of your own, and at the end you’ll find on- and offline places where you can read more queer zines.

As part of our project, we’ve been involved in the creation of several zines, some telling stories from the past and present, and others looking at queer art and artists in West Yorkshire. You can download and read some of these from The WYQS Zine Library.

Queer Time Capsules

A queer history time capsule is a container storing a selection of objects chosen to represent queer lives today, which gets saved for discovery in the future.

Our resource guide (by Kelly Bentley-Simon) encourages LGBTIQ+ youth groups to create a time capsule, and open and add to it each year during LGBT History Month. You can decide what’s significant and what to put in your time capsule; the booklet suggests activities and ideas tested by local school and youth groups.

Creative Writing

West Yorkshire-based poet Ian Humphreys was commissioned by West Yorkshire Queer Stories in 2019 to write five new poems based on stories contributed by Queer, Trans and Intersex People of Colour (QTIPOC). Along with notes outlining his inspiration and thoughts, these can be used in classrooms and with writing groups to explore links between oral history and the creative process.